Why is it so difficult to get a job here?

[David House]

I am presently in the Philippines and my wife is completing the BsEd she was taking when we met. I am appalled at the standard of teaching she is receiving, the high class numbers and the fact that many of the "units" have little relevance to becoming a teacher. Some of her classmates can hardly speak our language so how on earth they can expect to teach it is beyond me. There is a huge difference between the Philippine standards and those in the UK and those of you who fail to accept this are deluding yourselves. From what I have observed a "degree" course here is around the same level as a GCSE in the UK. What has to be remembered is that educational establishments here are businesses. Their principal reason for existing is to take fees off willing students. Good teaching and successful results are very secondary. If they can economise on staff they will. If they can cram classrooms they will. If they can encourage drop outs, and then economise on staff they will. I have no doubt that there must be some level of government imposed control but it's pretty loose and ineffective. Most UK schools are not run for profit, but by local authorities. The standards imposed are universally high, controlled by Ofsted. I own a nursery school and can vouch for their thoroughness. Class numbers are limited, teachers well qualified, the curriculum and examinations standardised. I don't mean to hurt the feelings of any Filipino reading this. I have employed several Filipinos in the past and have huge respect for their work ethic and caring attitude. It is simply unfortunate that the qualifications you feel so proud of will not often be of very much use to you in the UK. That does not make you unemployable. Far from it, but you need to adopt an alternative approach and not expect the paper you present to carry much weight.

[joebloggs]

check with http://www.naric.org.uk/index.asp?page=15 to see if your paper carries much weight

in some cases what you say maybe true, but don't put down the many qualified nurses who work here in the uk, and to suggest that degrees are worthless is , in the case of my misses she has a degree in biology and her medical degree is recognised by the GMC.

[David House]

check with http://www.naric.org.uk/index.asp?page=15 to see if your paper carries much weight

in some cases what you say maybe true, but don't put down the many qualified nurses who work here in the uk, and to suggest that degrees are worthless is , in the case of my misses she has a degree in biology and her medical degree is recognised by the GMC.

Accepted, of course. My wife registered with Naric when she first arrived in the UK and they gave her nil credit, absolutely ziltch, for all her efforts in the Philippines. Nurses have to undergo an adaptation course before they can start to work but their degrees, and other medical based ones, appear to have some real value. Of course such arrivals will almost always have a job to go to and their qualification thoroughly checked before their visa issued. My main point was to try to ensure that the level of expectation is not too high so that other newcomers remain realistic. We have many Filipino friends who have arrived with the belief that their commercial "degree" will smooth their path into a "good" job who ended up disappointed.